Solid State Devices

Dr. S. Karmalkar
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
I.I.T. Madras
(Refer Slide Time: 01:07)
Welcome to the course on Solid State Devices.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:11- 01:15 min)

It is not uncommon to see electrical engineers treating Solid State Devices or

semiconductor devices as black boxes to be used in the design of circuits. But, with the
semiconductor technology spearheading rapid advances in newer and newer areas of
electronics and day-to-day life, it has become necessary for an electrical engineer or an
electronic engineer to know in some depth about semiconductor devices. That is why a
course such as this is very important in the curriculum dealing with electrical or
electronic engineering. In the first two lectures we will discuss about how we shall go
about the various topics, the plan for the course, the importance of semiconductor
technology and some unique features about this. Let us start with diagrams or pictures of
a few devices.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:13-03:23 min)

So here are a few devices. Let us try to classify the various devices that we come across.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:25-03:53 min)

Here is a set of small signal diodes and transistors. So, you can classify devices based on
the power that they handle. You have small signal devices and power devices. Basically
all these devices try to modify and amplify electrical power.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:54-04:11 min)

This is an example of a power device; a high power insulated gate bipolar transistor. You
see, the outward construction of this device is somewhat different from the small signal
diodes and transistors which we saw. Mainly the difference is that a power device has to
handle large amounts of power and therefore it must be able to dissipate heat efficiently.
Also, since it manages large amount of power it is bigger in size. That is clearly evident
in this particular diagram. So, this is a much bigger transistor than the small signal
transistor we saw. You see here, this particular hole in this package is meant for attaching
a heat sink which will enable us to efficiently dissipate the heat. So, one must remember
when we are talking of devices the package that is used for housing these devices is also
very important. However, we will not be dealing with packaging issues in this course, but
we must not forget that packaging is also quite important for semiconductor devices.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:12 05:37 min)

Here is another device:

The High Electron Mobility Transistor is a device is used for high frequency
amplification. Note that the package of this device is quite different from the package of
the devices that we saw just now for high power and small signal applications. So this
kind of package is suitable for high frequency applications. So, this is another way of
classifying the device: you can have high frequency devices and low frequency devices.
Now, apart from this there are other ways of classifying devices. For example, you have
discrete devices and you have what are called Integrated circuit devices. Let us look at
one such diagram here.
(Refer Slide Time: 06:03- 06:50 min)

This is a Monolithic Accelerometer. You see, there are two chips here. The chip on the
right contains a number of devices integrated on a single semiconductor substrate. So this
is an integrated circuit. On the other hand, the device on the left is an Accelerometer Chip
that is a device which converts acceleration into electrical signal. These kinds of devices
are called Mems devices, that is, Micro Electro Mechanical Systems; mainly they involve
conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy and vice versa. These are new kind
of devices which are coming up and which have wide applications. Like the Mems
devices which convert electrical energy to mechanical energy and vice versa, you can
also have what are called Optoelectronic devices.

(Refer Slide Time: 07:22 - 07:42 min)

Here is a laser diode. It is an Optoelectronic device. Here you are pumping in electrical
energy and what you are getting out is a ray of light, in this case, blue light. So here you
are converting electrical energy to optical energy. These kinds of devices are called
Optoelectronic devices. You can also have conversion of light energy to electrical energy.
So you see these devices like the Mems and the laser diode are Optoelectronic devices
which involve conversion of energy of one form to other energy. This is how we can
classify the devices: small signal power devices, low frequency/high frequency devices,
discrete devices, integrated circuits, and then you have devices for Mems and
Optoelectronic applications which involve conversion of one form of energy to another
form. It will be necessary for us to understand why all these different kinds of devices
have become so important. For this purpose it is useful to look at the entire spectrum of
systems which are used in electrical engineering.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:49 10:43 min)

Now, what do the devices do in general? The devices serve to enhance performance,
reliability, and cost effectiveness of energy systems and information systems. So the
systems used in electrical engineering can be broadly classified into energy systems and
information systems. Now, what are the energy systems? As you see energy systems are
involved in generation, distribution and regulation of electrical energy. So here the aim is
to manage larger and larger amounts of energy and power. As against this, the
information systems store, process and communicate information.
Here the aim is to manage larger and larger amounts of information using lesser and
lesser amount of power. So you want to store large amount of information, you want to
communicate large amount of information in a speedy manner and you want to do all
these things using as low a power as possible.
So you can classify devices based on those which are used for energy systems and those
which are used for information systems.
But whatever the systems that may be under consideration the devices that are used in
these systems, if they are made from semiconductors, they help you to enhance the
performance, reliability and cost effectiveness. That is the reason why the semiconductor
devices have become so important.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:44 13:26 min)

Now, when we are talking of information systems it will be very useful to look at the
Electromagnetic Frequency Spectrum used for communication purposes. This allows you
to look at the entire spectrum of devices in another way. So, you see here the range of 300
to about 30 khz frequency. This is the frequency of electrical or electromagnetic signal.
This particular range 300 to 30k is used for audio applications. As we go higher you see
around 3MHz where you have the amplitude modulated radio - wireless communication.
Then you have wireless communication for FM and TV applications, that is, between 30
MHz - 300 MHz. You also have another band of frequencies for TV communications
around GHz range. Beyond this you have the microwave range. This range is normally
used for communication using satellites and so on.
And ultimately you have a gap and then you have very high frequencies of the order of
PHz, between THz and PHz which correspond to visible light and this range is also being
now considered for communication applications and that is where you have the
importance of optoelectronic devices.
So, based on the frequency spectrum you can also see how a variety of semiconductor
devices are required. So you require devices for audio applications in stereo systems,
music systems and so on. You require devices which will be involved in wireless
communication right from MHz range to 10 (GHz) ranges, that is the microwave range,
and then you require devices at the frequencies which correspond to visible light. So this

is another way of looking at the entire spectrum of devices. Now, when we talk about the
frequency spectrum many of you may have doubts as to why there are gaps in this
spectrum.
Now, this is an interesting topic as to why there are gaps in the frequency spectrum used
for communication purposes. This is beyond the scope of the present course. You will
come across this subject when you talk about communication. Having discussed the
classification of semiconductor devices and also seen why these devices are important, it
is because they enhance the cost effectiveness and reliability and performance of the
systems in which they are used. We are now ready to look at exactly what are the
objectives of our course.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:07 - 14:33 min)

The specific objective of this course is to relate the terminal characteristics of devices to
material parameters and ambient conditions. Now, let us look at this topic or this course
objective in a little bit detail to understand exactly what we are going to do. So far, we
have been using the devices as black boxes, that is, until you have come to this course
you have used various devices as black boxes wherein you know the terminal
characteristics of the devices and you do not bother as to how these terminal
characteristics are obtained, but your are concerned with using devices with specific
terminal characteristics for particular circuit applications.

(Refer Slide Time: 15:13 - 16:47 min)

For example, let us look at the diode.

You are familiar with the symbol of the diode. Now, you are also familiar with the
terminal characteristics of this device. When you are talking of terminal characteristics
we talk about the current as a function of voltage. So you apply a voltage across this
device and in response to this voltage a current flows. You try to relate this response, that
is, a current to the stimulus, that is, the voltage, the current voltage characteristics. For all
the Solid State Devices or semiconductor devices the important characteristics of interest
are the current through the device as a function of the voltage applied. So far, you have
treated diode as the black box which gives a rectifying current versus voltage
characteristics. If you go to very high reverse biases you know the device breaks down.
You know several application of this particular device.
For example, you know that the diode can be used for rectifying purpose. Similarly a
diode in break down can be used for generating a stable voltage independent of the
current.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:48 -18:47 min)

Another example of a device that you know is the transistor, the bipolar junction
transistor. So this is a three terminal device unlike the diode which is a two terminal
device.
So here, you know the input is a current; this terminal is called the base terminal, this
terminal is called the collector terminal and this terminal is called the emitter terminal.
Now the input is between base and emitter, you have an I B or base current as input and
you have a collector current as output.
Now, you also have input and output voltages. For example here between base and
emitter you have an emitter based voltage VBE and similarly here between collector and
emitter you have a voltage that is VCE collector to emitter voltage. Now, the terminal
characteristics of interest for this device are the collector current IC as a function of the
collector to emitter voltage VCE So IC versus VCE which is controlled by the base current.
So, for different base currents you have different collector currents as a function of the
collector to emitter voltage. Like the bipolar junction transistor you also know of the
MOS field effect transistor. So the symbol for MOSFET is something like this.
(Refer Slide Time:18:48 19:48 min)

We will discuss the symbol in detail. Here I am drawing a very simple MOSFET symbol
which shows it as a three terminal device and here you have the drain, the source, and the
gate. Like the bipolar junction transistor the MOSFET also has input and output sides. On
the input side it is a voltage.
Unlike the bipolar junction transistor there is no current flowing in this lead in the gate.
On the output side you have the drain current which is analogous to the collector current
of a bipolar transistor and you have the drain to source voltage. Now, the characteristics
of interest for this particular MOSFET also looks very much like this. If you replace I C by
ID, VCE by VDS, and IB, for bipolar transistor this is IB increasing, instead of that in a
MOSFET you have gate to source voltage increasing.
Now this is an NPN transistor where current flows because of electrons and this is an N
channel MOSFET where also the current flows because of electrons. You can have PNP
transistor and P channel MOSFET. So, here the current will flow because of holes. Now,
so far we have been working with these characteristics - the current voltage
characteristics - how to use them and make amplifying devices or amplifiers; how to use
these diode characteristics and make rectifiers or stable voltage sources in this particular
range which is called the breakdown voltage. Now, in this course we will try to get into
these black boxes or these devices and try to understand what are the phenomena taking
place in this device which gives raise to these kinds of characteristics. And we will try to

use this knowledge of the physical phenomena to relate the terminal current to the voltage
using an equation. So this is a terminal current and this is the voltage. Of course, you
have another controlling voltage and current. So, that is the goal of this course. It is like
trying to understand the psychology of semiconductor devices.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:47- 24:36 min)

So as shown in the slide here the course aims at relating the terminal characteristics to
parameters of the device and the ambient conditions. Now, what are the terminal
characteristics? You see the terminal characteristics are the DC current voltage
characteristics which we have drawn here. You also have what are called small signal
characteristics or as shown in the slide the AC steady state small signal characteristics
that is small i. I indicates a DC current, whereas i indicates an AC current.
So a small AC current or in response to a small AC voltage is superimposed on the DC
bias or DC currents. Another kind of terminal characteristics are the transient
characteristics wherein you apply a time varying voltage, a sudden change in the voltage
and you try to see how the current changes as a function of time. Now, in this course, we
will focus only on the DC and the small signal characteristics. We will not do the
transient characteristics. Now these characteristics, the current voltage characteristics,
will be expressed in terms of material parameters and ambient conditions. What are the
material parameters associated with the device? As the slide shows these are the

geometry of the device, the doping level, you know in semiconductors we use impurities
to change the concentrations of electrons and holes, so that is called doping. Then you
have other parameters about which we will be discussing in detail such as the energy gap,
the mobility, the life time - this is a parameter associated with transient and small signal
response wherein you have changing voltages applied, changing of the function of time,
when things change in the function of time how does a device respond? Then you have
another parameter namely the dielectric constant.
The ambient conditions of interest are temperature and illumination. So the
characteristics of semiconductor devices are quite sensitive to temperature and also they
may be sensitive to the intensity of light falling on the device if the covering on the
device is not proper or sometimes intentionally we want to make the device very sensitive
to light as in optoelectronic devices.
So, that is the goal of our course: relating terminal characteristics to internal physical
parameters, material parameters and ambient conditions by equations, by understanding
the various phenomena taking place in the device. So let us begin by understanding the
essential properties of semiconductors which enable us to make various kinds of devices.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:29- 26:04)

The properties of semiconductors:

We shall look at four properties, we will be looking at these properties in detail during the
course, but here let us just briefly see some points about each of the characteristics of
each of these properties. Now the four properties we have listed here are: the polarity of
charge carriers, concentration of charge carriers, transport of charge carriers and
interaction of semiconductor with electromagnetic field. Now, how do you remember
what are the various properties of semiconductor devices that we should be concerned
about? There is a very simple way of remembering this. You know as we have said, we
are interested in the current voltage characteristics of the device. Let us look at current
flow.
What is the current flow due to? Now you know that current flow is because of flow of
charges. So the first question that comes to our mind is: what are the polarities of
charges? Do you have positive and negative polarities or do you have only negative
polarities as we come across in metals. What is the concentration of these charged
carriers, because if the concentration is more, the current flow will be more?
Then related to the current flow another property you know would be the velocity with
which the carriers move because if the velocity with which the carriers move is more, the
current will be more so that is where we come across the transport of carriers. And you
would also like to know how the carriers are transported. So, that is how starting from the
phrase current flow we immediately come to three properties: that is the polarity of
charge carriers, the concentration of charge carriers and the transport of charge carriers.
Now as we have said you use devices also for converting one form of energy to another
form; therefore you would like to know how a semiconductor crystal interacts with other
forms of energy.
Most importantly: how does it interact with electromagnetic field? There are very
interesting kinds of characteristics that we can get out of such an interaction. Let us start
with the polarity of charge carriers. You know, in semiconductors you can have both
positive polarity and negative polarity - that is one big difference between the
semiconductors and the metals. In metals we only have negatively charged carriers. The
positively charged carriers in semiconductors are called holes. Why are they called holes?
Well we will see it during the course. Then let us come to the concentration. A very

interesting property of semiconductors is that its concentration can be varied over several
orders of magnitude. We can show this on a diagram as follows.
(Refer Slide Time: 28:36 30:53 min)

So supposing this is a scale which shows the concentration of carriers in different

materials. This is a logarithmic scale so that you can show several orders of magnitude.
Let us say this point indicates about 10 6/cm3. When we talk of carriers it could be either
holes or electrons because we are taking of semiconductors. But in metals it would mean
only one type of carriers: the electrons.
In metals your charge carrier concentration is beyond 10 21/cm3. These numbers here are
given per cm3. So beyond 1021 you have the metals whereas below 106 you have the
insulators and in between 106 and 1021 you have the semiconductors.
So the concentration of charge carriers in semiconductors varies over almost 15 orders of
magnitude 106 to 1021. Now note that these boundaries are not very hard and fast, these
are rough boundaries. So this is not precisely below 106 that you have insulators but
around 106/cm3 is the boundary between semiconductors and insulators. Around 10 21 is
the boundary between metals and semiconductors.
Now, what are the various ways in which we can achieve this variation in concentration?
You can achieve this variation in concentration by introducing impurities into
semiconductor, that is, by doping, or by shining light that is by illumination. You can also

vary the concentration by changing the temperature. So these are several ways in which
you can vary the concentration in semiconductors: doping, illumination and temperature
variation. Now let us look at the third property shown on the slide.
(Refer Slide Time: 31:36- 31:44 min)

The transport of charge carriers

In semiconductors you can have several ways of transporting charge carriers; in metals,
you know that current flows whenever you apply an electric field. This kind of transport
is called drift.
(Refer Slide Time: 32:03 38:14 min)

In metals your current flows only because of drift, but in semiconductors current can flow
also because of what is called diffusion. So like drift is transport of carriers because of
potential gradient, one point you have high potential and at another point you have low
potential, you have potential difference between two points and therefore the carriers are
transported.
Carriers are transported because they have charge and charge responds to electric field,
that is why drift occurs. In diffusion you have flow because concentration of charge
carriers is different at different points in a semiconductor. As we have seen the
concentration of carriers can be varied over a very wide range in semiconductors;
therefore, the possibility of diffusion in semiconductors is very strong. So diffusion
current is the current because of concentration gradient as against the drift which is the
current because of potential gradient.
So diffusion is another mechanism of transport. You also have thermoelectric current.
This is another mechanism of current flow and this is because of temperature gradient.
When you have different temperatures at different points in a semiconductor you can
have significant flow.
Thermoelectric currents and diffusion currents are not significant in metals so that is the
uniqueness of semiconductors that you can have all these three kinds of flows. In fact that

is why you can make different kind of devices and you have very interesting
characteristics.
Let us look at the drift transport in detail. A characteristic that is associated with the drift
transport is the drift velocity achieved by the electron in response to an electric field. This
drift velocity versus electric field normally has a characteristic like this in conductors or
metals. So the drift velocity increases as increase in electric field, in the small electric
field region this variation is linear, but as you increase the electric field this becomes sub
linear and ultimately the velocity tends to saturate. In most semiconductors this kind of a
behavior is there, but in certain semiconductors, such as the gallium arsenide which are
called compound semiconductors, you have an interesting kind of behavior, where the
drift velocity increases with the electric field, reaches a peak and then it falls before
saturating. This is what happens in compound semiconductors, this is a very interesting
characteristic.
Now, because of this, what happens is that in this region the current would be decreasing
when you increase the electric field because current is proportional to drift velocity, so
we are talking of drift. If current decreases with electric field in this region, it is a
situation of negative differential resistance because dI/dV is negative. So dV/dI is related
to this drift velocity versus electric field characteristics because voltage decides the field
and the drift velocity decides the current. A negative slope of V d versus E would imply in
this range, a negative differential resistance dV/dI, so r = dV/dI < 0 in this range for
compound semiconductors. There are very interesting applications of this property of
negative resistance. This is something that you cannot get in metals. Negative resistance
can be use to make oscillators. This we will not discuss in detail. We are only mentioning
some interesting characteristics of semiconductors related to carrier transport. Drift
velocity versus electric field behavior for small electric field, that is this range; the drift
velocity by electric field ratio here is a constant so Vd/E is a constant and it is called
mobility. Mobility decides what is called the resistivity of sample, so resistivity depends
on the carrier concentration and the carrier mobility.
The mobility can be varied by the several means in semiconductors. When you vary the
mobility you get a variation in the resistance or resistivity and that is of a very interesting
application. For example, piezo resistivity, where because of change in pressure you

change the mobility and you change the resistivity as a consequence. So you change the
dimensions of a semiconductor because of pressure and you get a change the resistivity
because of change in mobility. This is called piezo resitivity.
These kinds of interesting applications are there where mobility changes because of
factors such as temperature, pressure and so on. As a result, you can have variation in
resistivity, you can show that also on a diagram like this.
(Refer Slide Time: 39:06 - 40:29 min)

So here we see the resistance of cube which is 1 centimeter/1 centimeter/1 centimeter in

size and we are measuring the resistance between two opposite phases and we are
plotting this resistance for different materials.
For semiconductors, the range is from 10 -3 to 10-5 this is in ohms. So we are talking of
resistance in blocks, semiconductors. Here you have insulators on one side and on the
other side you have metals. So again there is a very wide range in resistance variation
because of change in the concentration and also change in mobility. So these are
interesting properties related to the charge transport.
(Refer Slide Time: 40:37 - 40:42 min )

Let us look at the 4h property on the slide that is the interaction of semiconductors with
electromagnetic field. When the light falls on any surface, part of it is reflected and part
of it is absorbed.
When light falls on a wall for example, the part of the light that is absorbed results in
slight increase in temperature of the wall; otherwise there are no significant effects. But
when light falls on a semiconductor, the part of the light that is absorbed gives rise to
several interesting phenomena.
(Refer Slide Time: 41:20 43:54 min)

Let us look at them. One possibility is, for example: This is the light wave, is the
frequency of light falling on an atom of semiconductor. The bonds break and the result is
an free electron and a hole, so electron and hole pair generation because of light falling
on an atom. So energy is absorbed and it results in breaking of the bond and it gives rise
to electron hole pair. As the result of this generation of free carriers, the conductivity of
the semiconductor changes and therefore this effect is referred to as photoconductivity.
This effect can also be called photovoltaic because this generated electron hole pairs can
give rise to a voltage between two terminals of a device.
You can also have the reverse effect, that is, you can have the situation where free
electrons and holes in semiconductors they recombine and the energy is given away as
light. This effect is called electroluminescence. That is, input energy is electrical and
output energy is light.
You can also have a combination of effects as shown here, that is, light falling on an atom
gives rise to electron hole pairs and this electron hole pairs recombine and give rise to a
light output where input is light output is also light but obviously the frequencies of the
two cannot be the same because there will be some energy loss, so 2 < 1 and this effect is
called photoluminescence where input is light and output is also light. In semiconductors,
you have all these possibilities of interaction of light. That is, you can have
photoconductivity or photovoltaic effect, you can also have electroluminescence or you
can have photoluminescence.
In fact the electroluminescence phenomenon is used to make the light emitting the laser
diodes: input is electrical energy and output is light. Similarly, photoconductivity and
photovoltaic effects are also useful. Photoconductivity is used to detect light so you have
a resistor whose resistivity changes when light falls; change in resistivity is used for
detecting the light.
On the other hand, in the solar cells you have photovoltaic effect where light is the input
and it generates an electrical energy. So you have a voltage source generated as result of
absorption of light. These are the important properties of semiconductors. Now, let us
look at the plan for this course.
(Refer Slide Time: 45:03 - 45:51 min)

You have 2 lectures as preface and these lectures include the present lecture which
introduces the course. Next lecture will deal with some interesting aspects of
semiconductor technology. So these two lectures which form the preface act like
appetizers for the course. Then we will discuss fundamentals of semiconductors in 16
lectures in part one and in the remaining part of about 24 lectures we will discuss the
various devices. So total of 42 lectures are there in this course. Now, let us look at the
details to be covered.
(Refer Slide Time: 45:57 51:01 min)

In the preface, first lecture is Introduction and the second lecture is Evolution and
Uniqueness of Semiconductor Technology. In this, we will see many aspects of how this
technology has evolved and become so important.
The next topic of discussion would be equilibrium carrier concentration - how the carrier
concentration varies as the function of temperature in pure and doped semiconductors, to
which no impulse other than temperature or thermal energy is important. We will find the
generation and recombination of electron hole pairs give rise to a picture which looks
something like what is shown in the slide. So you see appearing and disappearing dots
and circles; circles are holes and dots are electrons.
Next we will discuss how the carriers are transported, so under equilibrium conditions,
that is, when there is no impulse applied the carrier in semiconductor are in random
thermal motion as shown in the slide. This movement is like the movement of dust
particles. Over and above this random movement a directed movement is super imposed
by several means.
For example, if you apply an electric field, you find holes moving from left to right in a
direction of electric field and electrons moving from right to left. This directed motion is
superimposed over the random motion so you have a combination of the two. Now what
is the velocity acquired by the carriers? These are the issues that we will discuss in carrier
transport.
There are the others than electric field which can give rise to motion such as
concentration gradient and so on. Next topic of discussion would be excess carriers. So as
shown in this slide for example, if you have the semiconductor at equilibrium and if you
switch on a light source which is right next to the semiconductor, slowly the carrier
concentration will increase as shown in this slide and then it will acquire a steady state.
Now there is a finite non-zero time that elapses between the steady state and the instant at
which the impulse is applied. As we will see this time is related to a fundamental
parameter of semiconductor namely life time.
The life time also controls the decay of carriers when the impulse is switched off. Now
you see that the impulse has been removed and the carriers are slowly decaying to their
initial concentration that is concentration when there was no light source. This kind of

response of carriers is what governs even the dynamic characteristics of devices where
you vary voltages applied to the device.
The next topic of interest would be procedure for analyzing semiconductor devices so we
will combine the various ideas that we discuss in carrier concentration, carrier transport
and excess carriers, and show how we can find out the currents and potential conditions
within the device for given applied voltages.
Essentially here, you will have a set of equations like the one shown here. These are some
differential equations associated with for example hole current, P here in this slide, stands
for holes. The main thing to be discussed in this procedure is how to approximate these
equations and simplify them by ignoring various terms. It is said that engineering is the
art of making approximations. So always you are dealing with the complex situations and
you want to find out the variables that are really important to be taken in the account and
what are the variables that can be ignored. This is essentially what we shall discuss in this
procedure for analyzing semiconductor devices; how to get simple equations representing
the phenomena.
(Refer Slide Time: 51:02 - 57:25 min)

Next we will come to devices. So far, whatever we have discussed is a part of

fundamentals and preface. The first device we will discuss is the PN junction - both
forward and reverse characteristics of PN junctions will be discussed. Next we will
discuss a characteristic of bipolar junction transistor.

Bipolar junction transistor is a device that is obtained when you put two PN junctions in
close proximity as shown in this slide. This is a three terminal device so you have what
are called input terminals. In this case, it would be this terminal here, which is the
positive terminal P and this terminal which is N this constitute the input and this terminal
the negative terminal here, and the ground constitute the output. You have a common
terminal that is the terminal which is common to input and output. We shall see the
various characteristics of transistor.
When we are talking of characteristics, we mean current versus voltage characteristics,
that is, you apply the voltage and you see the current. That is what shown in this slide.
Arrows indicate currents and the polarity indicate the voltages. Towards the end of the
course, we will also discuss a variation of this device, namely the hetero junction bipolar
transistor, wherein you see that this particular P region has been modified as shown by
different color. The modification involves using a different material than a material used
to form N and P regions adjacent to it. This is the so called emitter region of bipolar
transistor. We shall see the advantages of such modifications.
Here, what you have is a hetero junction between this P region and the adjacent thin N
region and that is why it is called a hetero junction bipolar transistor. The next topic of
interest would be metal oxide semiconductor junction, so like the PN junction this is also
an important device. Here, you see you have a metal electrode on an insulator and this
insulator is grown on a semiconductor. You have a capacitance associated with this metal
and the semiconductor this is also like a junction. So, what are the characteristics of this
particular junction? Because of this insulator present here, there is no DC current flow.
What is of our interest in our case is only the capacitance as the function of the voltage
applied.
After this, we will discuss a related device that is the MOS field effect transistor. This is
formed by applying two contacts N + contacts, here as well as here, on the two sides of
the P layer next to the interface. You have the current flowing between the positive
terminals of these two contacts and on the ground or the negative terminal, and this
current flow which is along the silicon dioxide semiconductor interface shown by the
arrow is controlled by a voltage applied to the metal with respect to the N type contact
here which is called the source.

Next we will discuss another device very briefly, that is, the junction field effect
transistor or junction fet. Here it is like a MOSFET except that current flows in the N
region which is very thin and this current is controlled by a PN junction here, so you are
applying a voltage to this P layer with respect to N it is a reverse bias and as a result of
which this current can be modulated. A variation of the junction fet is the mesfet as
shown in the slide.
You see here the P region has been replaced by a metal region, also the color of N and P
has been changed. This is simply to indicate that normally the mesfet has been made
using the material that is different from that used for making junction fets. For example,
most of the junction fets are in silicon whereas the mesfets have been made in gallium
arsenide. Here the principle of operation is same as that of junction fet.
A voltage applied to the metal electrode here modulates the current flow in this n region
which is in the perpendicular direction to the voltage or field applied that is controlling
this current. We will discuss a very interesting recent modification of this structure that is
the hetero junction fet. This is shown in the slide here. This is similar to a mesfet except
that the current has shifted from the N region to the NP hetero junction here, so NP hetero
junction because the N region is now made of a different material than the P region unlike
in the mesfet and that is why this is shown with different color. The color of the n region
is different from p region, that is where you have a hetero junction here and the current
flows along the hetero junction interface and this current is controlled by the voltage
applied to the metal here. So that is the plan for this course.
To summarize this introduction lecture, we have seen in the beginning, what are the ways
in which we can classify the semiconductor devices, then we saw the important properties
of semiconductors that are of interest and then finally we provided a plan or a blue print
for this particular 42 lecture course wherein we said we have two lectures of appetizing
or interface or preface and then we have 16 lectures of fundamentals and 24 lectures of
devices. In the next lecture we will discuss the uniqueness and evolution of
semiconductor technology.